This Cuban’s First Job in the Capitalist World

Alfredo Fernández

HAVANA TIMES – I’ve gotten my first job in the capitalist world. A month ago, I sent my CV to an Ecuadorian university, the University of San Gregorio de Portoviejo, to be exact, located in the coastal province of Manabi. A few hours after sending my resume, they called me and asked me to start there as soon as possible.

They were desperately looking for someone to teach the Scriptwriting and Graphic Design for Film courses in their graphic design program (which had started three days before).

The next day, I got on a bus and travelled from Quito to Portoviejo. A few minutes after I’d arrived, I was already talking with the head of the program. Very kindly, she gave me all of the program details and, with two other professors, helped me find a place to live in in record time.

Classes started the next day. I was also assigned five graduate students. In short, I have a lot on my plate (which is better than doing nothing, as I’d been doing for about 6 months). Now, I have fully immersed myself into Ecuadorian society.

My students are young people working hard to obtain a university degree and guarantee a measure of security in the future. Ecuador is clearly moving forward: its youth are becoming aware of the importance of making sacrifices to be able to obtain an education and of not having many children.

I converse with my students every day. It’s a relationship that fascinates me. Though this is the first time I teach these courses, I feel I can contribute something to their lives by teaching them how a film script is structured and showing them some good cinema, something which these talented young people have not yet been exposed to.

I thank god that the first job I’ve found in the capitalist world is a teaching job.